Viruses May Be the Cause of Polio-like Symptoms in California

 

STEVEN CATALAN Staff Writer

Patients in California who were previously diagnosed with a viral infection are now turning up at hospitals and clinics with a Polio-like condition called Acute Flaccid Myelitis. According to The New York Post, the condition causes muscle weakness or paralysis and it can also damage the spinal cord. During the week of Oct. 22, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report stating that there have been 386 cases of AFM since August 2014. AFM mainly affects children. One of the symptoms of AFM is paralysis, which is also a major symptom of polio, a disease which is preventable with the polio vaccine.

AFM’s similarity to polio can be alarming. “It is very sad that this is happening because the government should be doing something about this,” senior Winston Yan said. “There should be no signs of polio [or polio-like diseases] anywhere in America because this was a disease that was supposedly eradicated yet it seems to be making a return.” According to USA Today, the CDC has not yet found a definitive cause for AFM or a reason why it continues to spread. “This is a mystery so far and we haven’t solved it yet,” said Nancy Messonnier, the CDC’s director of immunization and respiratory diseases. Even though parents and victims are searching for answers, many have also been critical of the CDC and its decision to test the spinal fluid of patients.

Only two people have shown any evidence of the virus in their spinal fluid. Finding a virus in spinal fluid is very rare because healthy people do not usually have viruses in their spinal fluid. Testing spinal fluid can have some complications. The CDC is working with state health officials to get more complete and timely reporting of suspected cases of AFM, which can help with the current investigation. Messonnier also said the CDC will work harder to follow up.